Rape is one of the social vices that we have to deal with today. It is not in any way new but lately it has been on the rise. The victims of rape being mostly teenage girls, closely followed by young adults and then children. Rape has varied reactions across different countries and the causes of rape has been constantly argued, postulated and updated. In the United States, where the recorded cases of rape are the highest, rape has been attributed to drugs, alcohol consumption, over exposure to pornography and sexually explicit materials, the act of masochism, sexual exposure and pop culture. While in a country like South Africa which also ranks high in reported cases vis a vis unreported cases, rape or jack rolling (gang rape ) has been attributed to societal beliefs, recreational amusements, peer pressure, poor law enforcement and punishments for culprits and a watered down legal definition of rape in Sweden. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is used as a weapon of war, to psychologically damage and pique unworthiness and self loathe. Societal and religious pressures has been cited as the major case in India, where pre-marital sex is frowned upon. Whatever the case, a victim would most likely not be concerned about the cause of a potential rape but would be more concerned about how to protect one’s self from it and how to come up out of it.
Nevertheless, it is pertinent to note that they are three kinds of rapist. The anger rapist, who wants to inflict pain, cause harm and punish the victim using rape.
The power rapist who derives a kind of self validation similar to bullies in rape, he sees the oppression and control of the victim as a kind of reassurance of dominion , strength, vigour, mastery and authority and then the sadist rapist, who has been wired mostly by pornographic materials, abuse and other internal influences to derive sexual satisfaction from rape.
A single person may fall into this three categories at a time, as the rapist might have overlapping interests in rape. In a single act of rape, a rapist might move from one form to the other depending on the prevailing circumstances.
Also the greatest misconception about rape is that they are perpetuated by strangers. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the United States, 38% of victims were raped by a friend or acquaintance, 28% by "an intimate" i.e a lover and 7% by another relative, and 26% were committed by a stranger to the victim. About four out of ten rape incidences take place at the victim's own home.
Now the main question is how do you prevent yourself from being a victim of a rapist.
1. Mind Work.
You have to condition your mind to not be a victim. If the above write up scared the hell out of you or you live in an environment where you have been filled with the fear of rape. There is a high unstatistically proven chance that you would fall a victim. It just works like that, the things we fear are constantly in a state of strong attraction to us. You are not supposed to be in fear because of your knowledge, your knowledge is supposed to equip you , giving you a better chance of avoiding the incidence.
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| If I am about to be raped, my bangs would turn into needles and i would simply whip my hair back and forth and pierce the rapist |
2. Setting boundaries:
Boundaries are to be set with the opposite sex and even same sex. Discussions on explicit sexual topics might send the wrong signals to potential rapist. Undue flirtatiousness might also not be taken casually but might be seen as a chance to take advantage. Knowing that 40% of rape cases are perpetuated in the victim’s home by people close to the victim, it is not advisable to be alone even in your home. A dog comes in handy here.
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| Good luck keeping this kind of pets, they don't even bark, they meow |
3. Awareness:
You have to be alert all times, don’t get distracted by technology such as iPods or phones. Distracted people are more often more likely to be taken advantage of than people who are seemly alert, walking along with confidence. When entering your house, room , be sure to ensure that no one is trailing you, as you can easily be pushed into your own room, or house and be raped. Make eye contacts with people who you believe are breaking into your personal space or are too close for comfort.
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| This is not going to get you raped , it is going to get you killed. |
4. Understand the Environment:
The causes of rape vary from one environment to another, same as the manner of rape. Understanding the prevailing reasons and methods of sexual abuse would go a long way in protecting yourself in that environment. In areas where gang rape carried out by teenage boys are common , being alone or being lured by boys to meet with others should be greatly avoided, avoiding foot paths where such boys are more likely to operate would also be advisable. The cause and method of rape is peculiar to each environment, understanding this would go a long way in protecting one self from rape. For example there is a belief common in South Africa that sexual intercourse with a virgin will cure a man of HIV or AIDS, this automatically puts a young girl at risk in an environment where such fallacies are believed.
5. Trusting your gut instincts:
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| I must not be left alone with this guy |
6. Dressing:
The way and manner of one’s dressing might also make one susceptible to rape more often than none. Even when you are in your own home, wearing loose ,skin exposing materials might not go down well with the sexually, uncontrollable potential rapist living in the same house with you. Going out to deliver the trash with an overly exposed Pajamas might also be asking for trouble. Overly sexual outfits are usually worn by celebrities who have guards and entourage as against a single female. Dressing goes a long way in exposing you to rape. Another very crucial thing to note about dressing is to wear clothes that are very difficult to loosen, it is better to wear something that would not be easily taken off by an attacker. |
| OMG! |
7. Online hook ups:
This has led to the death of teen girls in recent times, the growing use of social media for hooking up and meeting has also increased the danger of rape, assault and abuse. It is 10 times easier for someone you met online to take advantage, as the fear of being caught , traced or punished is greatly reduced. Keep in mind that everything you read or are told about an online personality is unverifiable.
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| He is neither even black, nor wears blue shirts or any shirts at all , he has a shovel though. |
8 8. Being vigilant at parties:
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| Now that is not aspirin. |
9. Fight for live:
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| Okay this would only turn him on |
RELATED POST: LETTER TO MY RAPIST | GETTING OVER RAPE
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10. Playing along:
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| A guy tried to rape me once, he didn't even make it to court. |
1 11. Scouts:
Joining a scouts or alert group might also be helpful against rape, where you carry a whistle and other objects for defense against a rapist. |
| Omg! he is so hot! (blows whistle)..... sorry false alarm. |
12. Rape Aggressive Defense:
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| Don't stop till a bone snaps |
and here is another RAD description which can be adopted by youth groups
13. Mind dribble:
This method involves telling the rapist that you either have a deadly disease like AIDS, have a demonic oppression transmittable by sex, that you are pregnant or are not a virgin in cases where people believe that virgins cure AIDS for example. The rapist may not believe but most times they withdraw to be on the safe side. Whatever you say, it must be believable1 14. Rape Axe:
Desperate times calls for desperate measures and so civilization has finally caught up with rapist, as a woman in South Africa, a country with one of the highest rape statistics in the world has designed a device known as a Rape Axe. This device that looks just like a condom has internal spikes that would attach to the flesh of the rapist and can only be removed surgically. Talk about remarkable evidence. It goes further to say on the site that if men can use their bodies as a weapon of attack , it is time for women to do the same. This instrument however only tackles male- female rape , but it is still a remarkable development as male-female rape is the most common.
15. Society Harnessing Equipment (SHE):
This is yet another Technological invention by some Indian Engineering Undergraduates in India, another high risk state as far as rape is concerned to prevent Rape. This is though in it's testing stages and critics say it has a lot of pitfalls. This equipment is like a bra worn around the breasts which has pressure sensors which would then release a jolt (3800kV) upon the application of pressure around the breasts. The wearer is however insulated from the jolts. The design however assumes that the woman would first be groped on her breasts. The source of the Electric shock however is still unclear.
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| OMG! only a woman would invent this weapon of mass destruction. |
| Okay, I Hope they know a shining wire should not be hanging out. |
| That's 82 Shocks for you ,You little Pervert! |
RELATED POSTS: CALLING ALL RAPIST TO INDIA
16. Hairy Stockings.
This Chinese invention would scare the shit out of a potential rapist and immediately quench his libido, except he is a baboon. It's basically transparent stockings with thick dark black and straight Chinese hair sprouting out of it, given the potential rapist the impression that you are an ape yet to attain full evolution to the human specie. Except of course, the rapist has read this blog or seen it in the news or sells it, in that case it might be a turn on, but at least let's give the Chinese the benefit of the doubt.
Read: Keep Your College Daughter Safe: Ways College Women can Prevent Sexual Assault
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| On a second thought, this could also be a fetish sex accessory. |
